Geelong’s Care Essentials wins top exporter award

Medical products manufacturer Care Essentials has won both the Regional Exporter category and the top award at the Australian Export Awards, held on Friday.

Federal trade minister Don Farrell said the Geelong-based, family-owned company, “has grown significantly and now exports its flagship product, Cocoon Warming System and a range of other medical products like respirators, surgical masks, sterilisation wraps and pre-warming blankets to the US, the UK, Taiwan, New Zealand, Japan, India and countries across Europe.”

The Australian Exporter of the Year exports to 70 countries and established a new factory in 2021 to manage its high growth. 

REDARC Electronics – another family-owned business – won the Manufacturing and Advanced Materials category for the second year running.

Owner and Managing Director, Anthony Kittel nominated a $23 million contract in partnership with UK-based MARL International — for 12,600 LED lights on three Hunter-class warships — as an important milestone for the 2022-2023 financial year.

“The agreement reinforces the importance of international partnerships in achieving business growth and enhances REDARC’s reputation in the international defence and space market,’ said Kittel in a statement last week.

“‘It also allows us to expand our operations, invest in our workforce and further solidify our international standing.”

Other finalists in the Manufacturing category were AW Bell (the joint Exporter of the Year at the 2021 Australian Export Awards), Currawong Engineering, Frosty Boy Global, Gelflex, Pharmako Biotechnologies, and SPEE3D.

Other winners (a full list is reproduced below) at the awards include mining equipment manufacturer and service provider Phibion (Resources and Energy) and SunRice (Agribusiness, Food & Beverages.)

“I congratulate all winners across the 13 categories and recognise the 86 outstanding national finalists who are winners in their home state or territory,” said Farrell.

“Collectively they employ over 22,500 people and generated $12 billion in export earnings.”

Picture: credit Care Essentials

Further reading

A.W. Bell, Riviera Australia named joint manufacturing winners in Australian Export Awards

Frosty Boy heats up – named Queensland’s top exporter